AT&T* today announced the availability of its third generation (3G) mobile broadband network in Brownwood, Eastland and Cisco, opening the door to a new era of mobile services, devices and feature-rich audio and video content for customers in the area.

The network extension is part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and investment to deliver the benefits of smartphones and mobile broadband for customers.   More smartphone customers have chosen AT&T over any other U.S. competitor, and AT&T is committed to driving continual enhancement of network capabilities to meet these customers’ ever-growing mobile broadband needs. From 2006 to 2008, AT&T’s total capital investment in its wireless and wireline network in Texas was more than $6 billion.

“This investment in the latest wireless technology is good for business and consumers in West Texas” said state Rep. Jim Keffer.  “It will not only keep residents connected but will also help economic development efforts by offering businesses the technology and services that rival those found in our state’s biggest cities.”

“Demand for wireless bandwidth is growing, whether it’s for sharing video and photos with friends, watching a movie, checking the latest scores, or listening to music on a phone, netbook or other mobile devices on the go,” said Adam Vital, vice president and general manager for AT&T in North Texas. “With this expansion, our customers can continue to ride the leading edge of mobile broadband with emerging devices and thousands of mobile applications.”

AT&T matches its network investment with unsurpassed choice in the range of devices, services and applications compatible with its 3G network – the nation’s fastest, according to independent testing.  AT&T offers a wide variety of devices from more than a dozen manufacturers, including handsets that are compatible with six different operating systems and five different e-mail applications. Our Media Mall 2.0 offers more than 90,000 content options, and customers can download additional applications over the Internet.

Recently, AT&T announced plans to further upgrade its 3G network nationwide with HSPA 7.2 technology to deliver considerably faster mobile broadband speeds. The upgrades are planned to begin in the fourth quarter, with completion expected in 2011. Supporting this initiative is AT&T’s ongoing deployment of additional backhaul capacity to cell sites, which  will support today’s unprecedented growth in mobile data traffic as well as the future demands of next-generation networks.

AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies that includes GSM and UMTS, the most open and widely used wireless network platforms in the world. AT&T’s 3G network is available in more than 350 major metropolitan areas. AT&T also offers 3G data roaming in more than 100 countries, as well as voice calling in more than 215 countries.

For more information about AT&T’s 3G coverage in Brownwood, Eastland, Cisco or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/.  The online tool can measure the quality of coverage based on a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.

For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit www.att.com/networknews.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

Photo: AT&T Texas president Don Cain (left) and state Rep. Jim Keffer show off an Acer Aspire One 3G netbook and an iPhone 3GS, two popular AT&T devices that run on the nation’s fastest 3G network.